Small RELIABLE Cheap to Run Car Under 5K

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#1494151 17-Feb-2016 16:38

networkn:

I found a 2004 1.8l nissan bluebird sedan with 60K on the clock for $4 ish, I think they are pretty sound, anyone got anything to say about those? It's chain driven. My sentra was awesome.

If a dealer has a car for 5K what would you expect to be able to negotiate down to ?

Depends on the dealer. But I'd try for 5 to 800 dollars.

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#1494192 17-Feb-2016 18:06

DravidDavid:

networkn:

I found a 2004 1.8l nissan bluebird sedan with 60K on the clock for $4 ish, I think they are pretty sound, anyone got anything to say about those? It's chain driven. My sentra was awesome.

If a dealer has a car for 5K what would you expect to be able to negotiate down to ?

Depends on the dealer. But I'd try for 5 to 800 dollars.

I offered him 4K via email. Haven't had a response as yet. I've actually found really poor response rates from dealers (even just making general enquiries).

DravidDavid

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#1494369 17-Feb-2016 20:56

networkn:

DravidDavid:

networkn:

I found a 2004 1.8l nissan bluebird sedan with 60K on the clock for $4 ish, I think they are pretty sound, anyone got anything to say about those? It's chain driven. My sentra was awesome.

If a dealer has a car for 5K what would you expect to be able to negotiate down to ?

Depends on the dealer. But I'd try for 5 to 800 dollars.

I offered him 4K via email. Haven't had a response as yet. I've actually found really poor response rates from dealers (even just making general enquiries).

Sometimes it is because they sell them before they even get to you and just delete your email. You have to show up to dealers in person. I've had terrible email experiences with dealers too.

After my post I remembered about a black 1993 MR2 Turbo that had been sitting on a car yard for about 8 months. It was there for ages with a 10,995 sticker on it. A panel beater told me the car was still there and to offer him a stupidly low amount. I offered him 4800 cash no questions asked and he declined but said I could take it away for 5500. I thought that was pretty good considering the sticker said 10,995 with a big SALE sign right next to it!

On closer inspection, I declined as it was quite clearly a roll-back. I prefer private sales for this reason. It's another reason for only buying cars with extensive service history. I know that 90% of the history is practically useless to me on a second hand car, but the mileage is recorded on practically every sheet! Very rarely have I ever seen service history from a car bought from a yard.

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#1497564 23-Feb-2016 09:13

Ok found a Honda Fit 2004 with 60K via private sale. Worth doing AA check at that mileage or just take the punt?

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#1497568 23-Feb-2016 09:36

CVT gear box? That may be something to check out, but others here own this era Jazz/Fit so can advise as to what you're best to do.

We bought my wife the more recent model (2008?) to avoid the CVT box, which had been problematic; the dealer I bought that car from claimed it was an issue of Honda initially setting the gearbox servicing intervals too high - when they came in for servicing at that point they were finding metal filings in the gear box!

Anyway, sounds a safe bet of a car - what's the price? My wife just loves hers, and the benefits of a decent boot (for the car's size) and the magic seats make it a flexible option. Also that's pretty good ks for a 12-year old car...

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#1497569 23-Feb-2016 09:38

jonathan18:

CVT gear box? That may be something to check out, but others here own this era Jazz/Fit so can advise as to what you're best to do.

We bought my wife the more recent model (2008?) to avoid the CVT box, which had been problematic; the dealer I bought that car from claimed it was an issue of Honda initially setting the gearbox servicing intervals too high - when they came in for servicing at that point they were finding metal filings in the gear box!

Anyway, sounds a safe bet of a car - what's the price? My wife just loves hers, and the benefits of a decent boot (for the car's size) and the magic seats make it a flexible option. Also that's pretty good ks for a 12-year old car...

I offered $4500. They countered at $4700, I have held my line. It's not the CVT Model. It's a traditional auto.

Wade

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#1497748 23-Feb-2016 12:18

What about the Nissan Tiidas? they are almost getting near that magical $5k mark and offer a lot of car for the money. My mum bought one brand new on 08 and has had stressfree run out of it

A late model Nissan Tiida is going to trump an old corolla on reliability and safety any day of the week

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#1497749 23-Feb-2016 12:20

Wade:

What about the Nissan Tiidas? they are almost getting near that magical $5k mark and offer a lot of car for the money. My mum bought one brand new on 08 and has had stressfree run out of it

A late model Nissan Tiida is going to trump an old corolla on reliability and safety any day of the week

Yeah, it's a little difficult, because on the whole, in my experience, women prefer looks over reliability and she isn't a fan of the March or Tilda either for reasons that don't make sense to me.

I keep telling her an ugly car that doesn't cost much is better than a nice one that does!

But yeah I am continuing to press.

So is the consensus that low KM car's prob skip the AA check?

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#1497782 23-Feb-2016 12:39

I would not begin to presume to offer anyone marital advice, but don't discount the importance of appearances. If she doesn't feel good about the car, and doesn't feel that it makes her look good, she won't be happy with it. I would much rather have a vehicle that makes me smile when I look at it, than one that never requires maintenance. Believe me, it does matter.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

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#1497796 23-Feb-2016 12:52

Rikkitic:

I would not begin to presume to offer anyone marital advice, but don't discount the importance of appearances. If she doesn't feel good about the car, and doesn't feel that it makes her look good, she won't be happy with it. I would much rather have a vehicle that makes me smile when I look at it, than one that never requires maintenance. Believe me, it does matter.

Well I am not married to my niece so I don't care :)

Yeah I get the attraction of looks, I could sell my wife any dark if it's dark blue and cute, but for this particular car, I need something that isn't going to cost her much/anything for a year or more as she gets on her feet with studying.

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#1497819 23-Feb-2016 13:14

networkn:

Rikkitic:

I would not begin to presume to offer anyone marital advice, but don't discount the importance of appearances. If she doesn't feel good about the car, and doesn't feel that it makes her look good, she won't be happy with it. I would much rather have a vehicle that makes me smile when I look at it, than one that never requires maintenance. Believe me, it does matter.

Well I am not married to my niece so I don't care :)

Yeah I get the attraction of looks, I could sell my wife any dark if it's dark blue and cute, but for this particular car, I need something that isn't going to cost her much/anything for a year or more as she gets on her feet with studying.

Sorry, I do remember you saying it was for your niece. Somehow my muddy brain turned that into wife. Apologies.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

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#1497823 23-Feb-2016 13:23

Rikkitic:

networkn:

Rikkitic:

I would not begin to presume to offer anyone marital advice, but don't discount the importance of appearances. If she doesn't feel good about the car, and doesn't feel that it makes her look good, she won't be happy with it. I would much rather have a vehicle that makes me smile when I look at it, than one that never requires maintenance. Believe me, it does matter.

Well I am not married to my niece so I don't care :)

Yeah I get the attraction of looks, I could sell my wife any dark if it's dark blue and cute, but for this particular car, I need something that isn't going to cost her much/anything for a year or more as she gets on her feet with studying.

Sorry, I do remember you saying it was for your niece. Somehow my muddy brain turned that into wife. Apologies.

No worries, I wasn't really offended :)

DravidDavid

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#1497859 23-Feb-2016 14:26

Any particular reason you want to spend 5K? There are plenty of reliable runners out there for $2500 to $3500

Find a 1996-1997 Toyota Corolla SE with its cam-belt done. with sub 200,000ks. I picked mine up for 1700 bucks, spent the other grand flushing the trans, cam-belt, power steering flush, brakes. (EDIT: it already had new tires all 'round). Never let me down. Sold it to a family friend almost 2 years ago now. All he's done is change the oil. I purchased it off an international student returning to China with 170'ish thousand kilometers on the clock.

If it's just a student's runner, I'd get a car much cheaper than 5K. Unless your niece is much older than the "straight outta' highschool" student and is looking for a car with more creature comforts.

Also, it's hard to turn down a weeks worth of travel for 30 bucks! :)

97' Toyota Corolla

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#1497860 23-Feb-2016 14:28

networkn: Ok found a Honda Fit 2004 with 60K via private sale. Worth doing AA check at that mileage or just take the punt?

To be honest I wouldn't trust the AA to appraise a sponge.

Call your local Honda dealer and ask if they do pre-purchase inspections. Most dealerships do these days, and if not ask if you can book two hours of their mechanics time to go over the car for you. It shouldn't cost any more than $150-$200. At $4k you can always take the risk if you know about cars and have viewed it yourself but something major could end up being the cost of the car to fix.

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#1498110 23-Feb-2016 21:02

Well that Honda Fit ended up being a CVT, so that's annoying. I normally try and stay away from Euro's in this price range, but I found a Peugeot 206 with 90K, NZ new with Service history for $4500 seems compelling?

Are they expensive to fix/unreliable? All the reviews I found said they were good cars.

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